Method and system for displaying nowcasts along a route on a map

ABSTRACT

A system and method for displaying nowcasts along a route on a map. The system receives a map request including a departure location and a destination location from a user, and obtains map data including a route between the destination location and the departure location. A nowcaster is used for outputting nowcasts for a number of key points along the route. The system modifies the map data to include a visual indicator for each nowcast for each key point such that when the modified map data is executed on a display the nowcasts are displayed along the route between the departure location and the destination location.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority of co-owned and co-invented U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/856,923 filed on Apr. 4, 2013, the specificationof which is hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

(a) Field

The subject matter disclosed generally relates to a system fordetermining weather forecasts.

(b) Related Prior Art

Conventional weather forecasting systems provide weather predictionstwelve hours to a few days from the present time. If one needs a shortterm forecast or a forecast with a fine time scale, the best informationavailable usually is an hourly forecast for the day.

Conventional weather forecasts are average forecasts for the area forwhich they are generated. Thus, a forecast may be inaccurate for aprecise location within this area, and even the present weatherdisplayed for an area may differ from the actual weather for a preciselocation within this area.

Moreover, conventional weather forecasts are displayed at a time scalethat is too coarse to allow a user to know when a weather event takesplace in a precise location and time. Even for hourly conventionalweather forecasts, it is impossible for the user to know if theforecasted weather event lasts one hour or one minute and, for thelatter, at what time it takes place exactly within the hour.

There is a need in the market for a method which allow for estimatingthe weather along the route between the departure location and thedestination location so that the user may attempt to take alternativeroutes to avoid extreme weather conditions.

SUMMARY

The present embodiments describe such a method.

According to an embodiment, there is provided a computer implementedmethod for generating maps comprising receiving a map request includinga departure location and a destination location. In response toreceiving said map request, the method comprises obtaining map datawhich when implemented on a display device cause the display device toshow a map including a route drawn between the departure location andsaid destination location. The method also comprises obtaining nowcastsfor one or more key points along said route, modifying said map dataincluding adding a visual indicator representing one of the nowcasts foreach key point on the route drawn on the map, and outputting modifiedmap data to a computing device for display to a user.

According to an embodiment, the method further comprises sending alocation information associated with each key point to a nowcaster forobtaining nowcasts.

According to an embodiment, the method further comprises sending a timefor which the nowcasts are needed for each key point.

According to an embodiment, sending a time comprises sending a currenttime.

According to an embodiment, sending a time comprises estimating anarrival time representing the time at which the user starting from acurrent location will arrive at a given key point.

According to an embodiment, estimating the arrival time is based on atleast one of: departure time, weather conditions, speed limit, currentspeed, and distance between the current location and the key point.

According to an embodiment, the method further comprises receivingupdated positional information representing the current location of thecomputing device on which the map is displayed, and using the currentlocation as a new departure location updating the nowcasts on the map.

According to an embodiment, obtaining map data comprises generating themap data using information stored locally.

According to an embodiment, obtaining map data comprises forwarding themap request to a remote server.

In another aspect, there is provided a method for providing nowcasts ona map displayed on a GPS navigation device (GPS), the method comprisingreceiving from said GPS location information including a departurelocation and a destination location, and a pre-determined route betweenthe departure location and the destination location, identifying one ormore key points along said route, associating a time with each point,obtaining nowcasts for each key points, and forwarding said nowcasts fordisplaying on the route drawn between the departure location and thedestination location, on a display associated with said GPS for displayto a user.

According to an embodiment, the method further comprises sending alocation information associated with each key point to a nowcaster forobtaining nowcasts.

According to an embodiment, the method further comprises sending a timefor which the nowcasts are needed for each key point.

According to an embodiment, sending a time comprises sending a currenttime.

According to another embodiment, sending a time comprises estimating anarrival time representing the time at which the user starting at acurrent location will arrive at a given key point.

According to an embodiment, estimating the arrival time is based on atleast one of: departure time, weather conditions, speed limit, currentspeed, and distance between the current location and the key point.

According to an embodiment, the method further comprises receivingupdated positional information representing the current location of theGPS on which the map is displayed, and using the current location as anew departure location updating the nowcasts on the map.

Definitions

A nowcaster is a weather forecasting device which prepares very shortterm (e.g., 1 min., 5 mins., 15 mins., 30 mins., etc.) forecasts for avery small region on Earth (5 meters, 10 meters, 50 meters, 100 meters,500 meters, 1,000 meters, etc.).

A weather-related observation may be an image, a video, a free form text(tweet, message, email, etc.), a weather value of any sort such astemperature, pressure, visibility, precipitation type and intensity,accumulation, cloud cover, wind, etc.

A weather-related event is, for example, at least one of hail, a windgust, lightning, a temperature change, etc.

A point observation is an observation, as defined herein, made at aparticular position (sometimes also referred to as referred to as a“location”) at a given time.

The particular position is the position on Earth at which theobservation is made. A precision of 5 meters to 10 meters is appropriatefor the embodiments described herein, but the variation in the positionmay be greater such as 25 meters, 50 meters, 100 meters, 1000 meters ormore (i.e., less precision). The means for obtaining the particularposition include any type of geo-location means or positioning systemavailable at the time of filing this patent application. Thegeo-location means or positioning system may be automated or not.Automated geo-location means or positioning system include globalpositioning systems, RF location systems, radiolocation technologies,Internet Protocol (IP) address, MAC address, WiFi, Radio FrequencyIdentification (RFID), etc. The positioning systems may also be manualsuch as providing a street address, street corner, building or landmark,etc.

A given time is defined as the hour, minute and second at which thepoint observation is made in the time zone corresponding to theparticular position. The hour, minute and second for the given time canalso be recorded according to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) orGreenwich Mean Time (GMT) such that the given time is independent of theparticular position. The precision of the given time may be more or lessthan one second. For example, in some embodiments, a precision of 5 s,10 s, 30 s, 60 s or more may be sufficient for the embodiments describedherein.

A user is a person to whom or a machine to which a weather forecast isforwarded.

An observer is an entity providing automated and/or manned observations.An observer may be a person or an automated machine. An observer mayalso be a user as defined herein.

A gridded image is an image which comprises latitude and longitudecoordinates. It is therefore a collection of bi-dimensionalgeo-localized points/pixels.

Each pixel in a gridded image corresponds to a position and can eitherrepresent a single weather value, a probability distribution of valuesor a level of confidence.

Features and advantages of the subject matter hereof will become moreapparent in light of the following detailed description of selectedembodiments, as illustrated in the accompanying figures. As will berealized, the subject matter disclosed and claimed is capable ofmodifications in various respects, all without departing from the scopeof the claims. Accordingly, the drawings and the description are to beregarded as illustrative in nature, and not as restrictive and the fullscope of the subject matter is set forth in the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further features and advantages of the present disclosure will becomeapparent from the following detailed description, taken in combinationwith the appended drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of system for displaying nowcasts along aroute on a map;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a suitable nowcaster for implementing theembodiments;

FIGS. 3a to 3c illustrate examples of maps and directions returned by amap generating module;

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a GPS navigating device;

FIGS. 5a & 5 b illustrate examples of maps showing a route and aplurality nowcasts for a plurality of key points along the route;

FIG. 6 is an example of a network environment in which the embodimentsmay be practiced;

FIG. 7 is an example of another network environment in which theembodiments may be practiced;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a computer-implemented method for generatingmaps, according to an embodiment.

FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary diagram of a suitable computingoperating environment in which embodiments of the invention may bepracticed.

It will be noted that throughout the appended drawings, like featuresare identified by like reference numerals.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The embodiments will now be described more fully hereinafter withreference to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, andwhich show, by way of illustration, specific embodiments by which theembodiments may be practiced. The embodiments are also described so thatthe disclosure conveys the scope of the invention to those skilled inthe art. The embodiments may, however, be embodied in many differentforms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments setforth herein.

Among other things, the present embodiments may be embodied as methodsor devices. Accordingly, the embodiments may take the form of anentirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment, anembodiment combining software and hardware aspects, etc. Furthermore,although the embodiments are described with reference to a portable orhandheld device, they may also be implemented on desktops, laptopcomputers, tablet devices or any computing device having sufficientcomputing resources to implement the embodiments.

Briefly stated, the present embodiments describe a system and method fordisplaying nowcasts along a route on a map. The system receives a maprequest including a departure location and a destination location from auser, and obtains map data including a route between the destinationlocation and the departure location. A nowcaster is used for outputtingnowcasts for a number of key points along the route. The system modifiesthe map data to include a visual indicator for the nowcast associatedwith each key point such that when the modified map data is executed ona display the nowcasts are displayed along the route between thedeparture location and the destination location.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of system 300 for displaying nowcasts along aroute on a map. As shown in FIG. 1, the system 300 comprises a nowcaster200 (aka system for generating nowcasts), a map generating module 310,and an intelligence module 312 for communicating between the mapgenerating module 310 and the nowcaster 200 to output a map showingnowcasts for a number of key points along the route.

Nowcaster

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a suitable nowcaster 200 such as thatdescribed in co-owned and co-invented U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/856,923 filed on Apr. 4, 2013.

As shown in FIG. 2, the nowcaster 200 receives weather observations fromdifferent sources 201 such as weather observations sources including butnot limited to: point observations 201-2 (e.g. feedback provided byusers and automated stations), weather radars 201-3, satellites 201-4and other types of weather observations 201-1, and weather forecastsources such as numerical weather prediction (NWP) model output 201-5and weather forecasts and advisories 201-6.

In an embodiment, the nowcaster 200 comprises a PType distributionforecaster 202 and a PRate distribution forecaster 204. The PTypeforecaster 202 receives the weather observations from the differentsources 201 and outputs a probability distribution of precipitation typeover an interval of time, for a given latitude and longitude (and/orlocation). For example:

-   a. Snow: 10%-   b. Rain: 30%-   c. Freezing Rain: 60%-   d. Hail: 0%-   e. Ice Pellets: 0%

Similarly, the PRate forecaster 204 receives the weather observationsfor a given latitude and longitude from the different sources 201 andoutputs a probability distribution forecast of a precipitation rate(PRate) in a representation that expresses the uncertainty. For example,the PRate may be output as a probability distribution of precipitationrates or a range of rates over an interval of time, for a given latitudeand longitude. For example:

-   f. No Precip: 30%-   g. Light: 40%-   h. Moderate: 20%-   i. Heavy: 10%

The PRate and PType values output by the PRate forecaster 204 and thePType forecaster 202 are sent to a forecast combiner 206 to combinethese values into a single value PTypeRate which represents theprecipitation outcomes. For example, if the value of PType is “Snow”,and the value of “PRate” is heavy, the combined value of PTypeRate maybe “heavy snow”.

For a given latitude and longitude, the system outputs forecastedPTypeRate Distributions for predefined time intervals, either fixed (ex:1 minute) or variable (ex: 1 minute, then 5 minutes, then 10 minutes,etc). The system can either pre-calculate and store forecasted PTypeRateDistributions in a sequence of time intervals, or calculate it on thefly. A PTypeRate Distribution represents, for each time interval, thecertainty or uncertainty that a PTypeRate will occur.

With reference to FIG. 2, the forecast combiner 206 receives the finalPRate distribution from the PType forecaster 202 and the final PRatedistribution from the PRate forecaster 204 to combine them into a groupof PTypeRate distribution values each representing the probability ofreceiving a certain type of precipitation at a certain rate. An exampleis provided below.

Assuming that the PType distribution is as follows: Snow: 50%, Rain 0%,Freezing rain: 30%, Hail 0%, Ice pellets 20%, and the PRate distributionis as follows: None: 0%, light: 10%, moderate: 20%, Heavy: 30%, Veryheavy 40%, the PTypeRate distributions may be as follows:

PType Snow Rain Freez. Rain Hail Ice Pellets PRate 50% 0% 30% 0% 20%None 0% No No No No No precipitation precipitation precipitationprecipitation precipitation Light 10% 5% light No 3% light No 2% lightice snow precipitation freezing rain precipitation pellets Moderate 20%10% No 6% No 4% moderate precipitation moderate precipitation moderatesnow freezing rain ice pellets Heavy 30% 15% heavy No 9% heavy No 6%heavy snow precipitation freezing rain precipitation ice pellets V.heavy 20% heavy No 12% v. heavy No 8% v. heavy 40% snow precipitationfreezing rain precipitation ice pellets

Accordingly, the forecast combiner 206 multiplies the probability ofeach type of precipitation by the probability of each rate ofprecipitation to obtain a probability of receiving a certain type ofprecipitation at a certain rate for example, 20% chance of heavy snow,or 12% chance of very heavy freezing rain. In an embodiment, it ispossible to associate probability ranges with textual information fordisplaying the textual information to the user instead of theprobabilities in numbers. For example, probabilities that are between 5%and 15% may be associated with the text: “low chance”, whileprobabilities that are between 40% and 70% may be associated with thetext “high chance”, or “very likely” etc. whereby, instead ofdisplaying: 60% chance of heavy snow, it is possible to display: “highchance of heavy snow”.

In another embodiment, it is possible to combine two or more differentPTypeRates along one or more dimensions (the dimensions including: therate, type, or probability). For example, results of such combinationmay include: Likely light to moderate rain, Likely light to moderaterain or heavy snow; Likely moderate rain or snow; likely rain or snow;chance of light to moderate rain or heavy snow or light hail; chance ofmoderate rain, snow or hail; chance of rain, snow or hail, etc.

Accordingly, the nowcaster 200 receives the location for which thenowcasts are needed and the time and/or time interval for which thenowcasts are needed and outputs the PtypRate distribution for the givenlocation and for the specific time.

There may be another embodiment of the nowcaster 200. In thisembodiment, the nowcaster comprises a PType selector/receiver and aPRate distribution forecaster. Similar to the embodiment shown in FIG.2, the PRate distribution forecaster receives the weather observationsfor a given latitude and longitude from the different sources andoutputs a probability distribution forecast of a precipitation rate(PRate) in a representation that expresses the uncertainty. For example,the PRate may be output as a probability distribution of precipitationrates or a range of rates over an interval of time, for a given latitudeand longitude. For example:

-   -   f. No Precip.: 30%    -   g. Light: 40%    -   h. Moderate: 20%    -   i. Heavy: 10%

However, the PType selector/receiver does not output a probabilitydistribution associated with different types of precipitation. Instead,the PType selector/receiver receives weather observations for a givenlatitude and longitude from the different sources to select oneprecipitation type from a list of different precipitation types. Forexample, based on the inputs received from the sources, the PTypeselector/receiver selects a single precipitation type that is mostlikely to occur in the given latitude and longitude (and/or location)from the following list of precipitation types:

-   -   a. Snow    -   b. Rain    -   c. Freezing Rain    -   d. Hail    -   e. Ice Pellets    -   f. Mix (e.g., a+c, a+d, b+c, a+e, c+e, d+e, etc.)

From the list of precipitation types such as the one above, only oneprecipitation type is selected for a given location. For example, a mixof snow and freezing rain can be selected as the most likelyprecipitation type for a given location at a given time. Theprecipitation type is not associated with a probability value. In fact,since only one precipitation type is selected for any given location andtime corresponding to the location, the selected precipitation type willhave the effective probability value of 100%.

The list of precipitation types that are available for selection of onetype may include a mix type that represents a mix of two differentprecipitation types (e.g., snow and freezing rain, hail and ice pellets,etc.). A mix type is considered as a distinct precipitation typeavailable for selection and, as shown above in (f) of the list, therecan be many different mix types representing the mix of different pairsof various precipitation types.

In another embodiment, the precipitation type is not selected by thePType selector/receiver but instead is received from a source outsidethe nowcaster. In other words, the nowcaster 200 may request to a remotesource (e.g., a third-party weather service) identification of theprecipitation type that is most likely to occur for a given location ata given time and receive a response from the source identifying the mostlikely precipitation type. In this case, selection of the precipitationtype is not performed by the nowcaster. The nowcaster merely is inputtedwith the already-selected precipitation type and thereby can savecomputational power of the nowcaster that would otherwise have beenneeded to perform the selection.

The selected precipitation type and the PRate values respectively outputby the PType selector/receiver and the PRate distribution forecaster arecombined. For example, if the selected precipitation type is snow, andthe PRate values are as described above, the combined information wouldindicate:

-   -   a. No Snow: 30%    -   b. Light Snow: 40%    -   c. Moderate Snow: 20%    -   d. Heavy Snow: 10%.

As only one precipitation type is concerned, only minimal amount ofcomputational power is needed to perform the combining to output thefinal weather forecast data. Since the PType selector/receiver willoutput one (1) precipitation type for a given location and time, if thePRate distribution forecaster outputs a number m of probabilitydistribution, the final weather forecast data will comprise only anumber m (m*1) of weather forecast distribution.

In outputting the final weather forecast data, it is possible toassociate probability ranges with textual information for displaying thetextual information to the user instead of the probabilities in numbers,similar to the embodiment shown in FIG. 2. For example, probabilitiesthat are between 5% and 15% may be associated with the text: “lowchance,” while probabilities that are between 40% and 70% may beassociated with the text “high chance,” or “very likely,” etc. whereby,instead of displaying: “60% chance of heavy snow,” it is possible todisplay: “high chance of heavy snow.”

Accordingly, the nowcaster receives the location for which the nowcastsare needed and the time and/or time interval for which the nowcasts areneeded and outputs the selected PType and PRate distribution for thegiven location and for the specific time.

The nowcaster according to this another embodiment of the nowcaster maybe advantageous over the embodiment shown in FIG. 2 in certaincircumstances in which efficiency is desired. This another embodimentcan be implemented using much less processing power than the embodimentof FIG. 2. However, the embodiment of FIG. 2 may be more suitable thanthis another embodiment described above in providing more detailed andaccurate snapshot of weather forecast data for any given location andtime.

Map Generation Module

The map generating module 310 may be a web-based module and/or a GPSbased module for generating routes and directions.

An example of such web-based modules may include Mapquest™, Yahoo™ Maps,Google™ Maps, and so on. In this type of modules the data relating tothe generation or routes and/or maps is stored on a remote server 250that is accessible via a telecommunications network 254 such theinternet. Using these modules, the user may request to view the map fora certain location e.g. city, town, country, street etc. and/or mayrequest directions from a first location A to a second location B,whereby the module may return a list of directions for the displacementfrom A to B as shown in FIG. 3a and/or a route drawn on a map as shownin FIG. 3b . In an embodiment the map generating module 310 may provideone or more choices of routes for the user to choose from as exemplifiedin FIG. 3 c.

In another embodiment, the data may be downloaded and/or pushed from theserver 250 to the computing device on which the embodiments arepracticed, whereby the route and/or map may be displayed withoutaccessing the remote server 250.

In an embodiment, the map generating module 310 may also include a GPSnavigation device 330 which determines the current position of the userusing a connection with satellite 332. The GPS unit may be embedded in aportable device such as an IPhone™ or the like. In another example, theGPS navigation device 330 may be embedded in a handheld GPS navigationdevice such as the series of devices manufactured by Garmin™ orMagellan™ etc. An example of which is shown in FIG. 4.

Intelligence Module

In an embodiment, the intelligence module 312 may be linked to a userinterface for receiving the user's entries such the identification ofthe locations A and B, departure time, and the user preferencesregarding the locations for which the nowcasts are needed.

The intelligence module 312 transfers the identification of thelocations A and B to the map generating module 310, and in return, itreceives a map on which the route between A and B is drawn asexemplified in FIG. 3 b.

Based on the user's preferences, the intelligence module 312 mayidentify/receive the key points along the route. For example, the usermay choose to view the nowcasts for major cities along the route, or byincrements of for example 30 Km, etc. The intelligence module 312 sendsthe location information associated with each key point to the nowcaster200 along with a time or time interval. In response, the Intelligencemodule 312 receives the nowcasts from the nowcaster 200 and adds some orall (depending on the resolution and size of the display and the zoomlevel) of these nowcasts on the map received from the map generatingmodule 310, as exemplified in FIG. 5 a.

In one embodiment, the intelligence module 312 may send the locationinformation of the each key point along with the current time wherebythe user may see the current weather conditions in the differentlocations along the route.

In another embodiment, the intelligence module 312 may estimate a timeof arrival for each key point which represents the estimated time atwhich the user is expected to arrive at a given key point. Estimation ofthe arrival time may depend on several factors including: the departuretime (which unless specified by the user is taken as the present time),the distance between the departure point and the respective key point,traffic information received from the map generating module 310 (oranother source), weather information, current speed, and speed limitassociated with each segment of the route between the current positionand the respective key point.

As discussed above, the map generating module 310 may provide differentchoices of routes whereby the user may view the weather conditions alongdifferent key points and select one the routes for navigation.

In an embodiment, if the user is viewing the map using a GPS and/or webenabled computing device, the nowcasts may be updated on the map basedon the advancement of the user on the route and the changes in weatherconditions.

In an embodiment, the nowcasts may be provided on the map along with thetime/time interval associated with each nowcast, as exemplified in FIG.5b . In an embodiment, the time shown on the map is the estimated timeof arrival which is estimated by the intelligence module 312 based onthe current location, speed, and weather and traffic conditions.

FIG. 6 is an example of a network environment in which the embodimentsmay be practiced. The nowcaster 200 may be implemented on a server 250which is accessible by a plurality of client computers 252 over atelecommunications network 254. The client computers 252 may include butnot limited to: laptops, desktops, portable computing devices, tabletsand the like. Using a client computer 252, each user may enter thedirections between two locations and preferably the time of departure(otherwise the current time is used to replace this). The information issent to the remote server 250 over a telecommunications network 254. Theserver 250 returns a list of directions along with a map including aroute from locations A to B along with nowcasts at certain key points onthe route. The server accesses weather source 201 over atelecommunications network 254 as discussed in connection with FIG. 2.The server 250 may have map data stored thereon and may also access mapsources 320 provided by a third entity.

Preferably, the client computer 252 is GPS enabled. In which case, thecomputing device may provide updates to the server 250 for updating thenowcasts along the route, as discussed above.

FIG. 7 is an example of another network environment in which theembodiments of a method for providing nowcasts may be practiced. In thisembodiment, the user enters the destination and views the map on a GPSnavigation device. The GPS navigation device takes the departurelocation as the current location. The current position and the enddestination along with a pre-determined route which is chosen by asatellite 332 may be sent to the server 250 via the satellite 332. Theintelligence module 312 implemented in the server 250 may return thenowcasts for key points along the route, and send the nowcasts and anidentification of the key points to the GPS navigation device 330 foradding to the map shown on the display of the GPS navigation device 330.

FIG. 8 illustrates a computer implemented method 800 for generatingmaps. It comprises receiving a map request 810 including a departurelocation and a destination location. In response to receiving the maprequest 810, the computer implemented method 800 comprises obtaining mapdata 820 which, when implemented on a display device, cause the displaydevice to show a map display 830 including a route drawn between thedeparture location and said destination location. It also performsobtaining nowcasts 840 for one or more key points along the route andmodifies the map data 820 (including adding a visual indicator) for therepresentation 850 of one of the nowcasts for each key point on theroute drawn on the map. The computer-implemented method 800 eventuallyoutputs modified map data for display 860 to a user.

Hardware and Operating Environment

FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary diagram of a suitable computingoperating environment in which embodiments of the invention may bepracticed. The following description is associated with FIG. 9 and isintended to provide a brief, general description of suitable computerhardware and a suitable computing environment in conjunction with whichthe embodiments may be implemented. Not all the components are requiredto practice the embodiments, and variations in the arrangement and typeof the components may be made without departing from the spirit or scopeof the embodiments.

Although not required, the embodiments are described in the generalcontext of computer-executable instructions, such as program modules,being executed by a computer, such as a personal computer, a hand-heldor palm-size computer, Smartphone, or an embedded system such as acomputer in a consumer device or specialized industrial controller.Generally, program modules include routines, programs, objects,components, data structures, etc., that perform particular tasks orimplement particular abstract data types.

Moreover, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the embodimentsmay be practiced with other computer system configurations, includinghand-held devices, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based orprogrammable consumer electronics, network PCS, minicomputers, mainframecomputers, cellular telephones, smart phones, display pagers, radiofrequency (RF) devices, infrared (IR) devices, Personal DigitalAssistants (PDAs), laptop computers, wearable computers, tabletcomputers, a device of the IPOD or IPAD family of devices manufacturedby Apple Computer, integrated devices combining one or more of thepreceding devices, or any other computing device capable of performingthe methods and systems described herein. The embodiments may also bepracticed in distributed computing environments where tasks areperformed by remote processing devices that are linked through acommunications network. In a distributed computing environment, programmodules may be located in both local and remote memory storage devices.

The exemplary hardware and operating environment of FIG. 9 includes ageneral purpose computing device in the form of a computer 720,including a processing unit 721, a system memory 722, and a system bus723 that operatively couples various system components including thesystem memory to the processing unit 721. There may be only one or theremay be more than one processing unit 721, such that the processor ofcomputer 720 comprises a single central-processing unit (CPU), or aplurality of processing units, commonly referred to as a parallelprocessing environment. The computer 720 may be a conventional computer,a distributed computer, or any other type of computer; the embodimentsare not so limited.

The system bus 723 may be any of several types of bus structuresincluding a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, and alocal bus using any of a variety of bus architectures. The system memorymay also be referred to as simply the memory, and includes read onlymemory (ROM) 724 and random access memory (RAM) 725. A basicinput/output system (BIOS) 726, containing the basic routines that helpto transfer information between elements within the computer 720, suchas during start-up, is stored in ROM 724. In one embodiment of theinvention, the computer 720 further includes a hard disk drive 727 forreading from and writing to a hard disk, not shown, a magnetic diskdrive 728 for reading from or writing to a removable magnetic disk 729,and an optical disk drive 730 for reading from or writing to a removableoptical disk 731 such as a CD ROM or other optical media. In alternativeembodiments of the invention, the functionality provided by the harddisk drive 727, magnetic disk 729 and optical disk drive 730 is emulatedusing volatile or non-volatile RAM in order to conserve power and reducethe size of the system. In these alternative embodiments, the RAM may befixed in the computer system, or it may be a removable RAM device, suchas a Compact Flash memory card.

In an embodiment of the invention, the hard disk drive 727, magneticdisk drive 728, and optical disk drive 730 are connected to the systembus 723 by a hard disk drive interface 732, a magnetic disk driveinterface 733, and an optical disk drive interface 734, respectively.The drives and their associated computer-readable media providenonvolatile storage of computer-readable instructions, data structures,program modules and other data for the computer 720. It should beappreciated by those skilled in the art that any type ofcomputer-readable media which can store data that is accessible by acomputer, such as magnetic cassettes, flash memory cards, digital videodisks, Bernoulli cartridges, random access memories (RAMs), read onlymemories (ROMs), and the like, may be used in the exemplary operatingenvironment.

A number of program modules may be stored on the hard disk, magneticdisk 729, optical disk 731, ROM 724, or RAM 725, including an operatingsystem 735, one or more application programs 736, other program modules737, and program data 738. A user may enter commands and informationinto the personal computer 720 through input devices such as a keyboard740 and pointing device 742. Other input devices (not shown) may includea microphone, joystick, game pad, satellite dish, scanner, touchsensitive pad, or the like. These and other input devices are oftenconnected to the processing unit 721 through a serial port interface 746that is coupled to the system bus, but may be connected by otherinterfaces, such as a parallel port, game port, or a universal serialbus (USB). In addition, input to the system may be provided by amicrophone to receive audio input.

A monitor 747 or other type of display device is also connected to thesystem bus 723 via an interface, such as a video adapter 748. In oneembodiment of the invention, the monitor comprises a Liquid CrystalDisplay (LCD). In addition to the monitor, computers typically includeother peripheral output devices (not shown), such as speakers andprinters. The monitor may include a touch sensitive surface which allowsthe user to interface with the computer by pressing on or touching thesurface.

The computer 720 may operate in a networked environment using logicalconnections to one or more remote computers, such as a remote computer749. These logical connections are achieved by a communication devicecoupled to or a part of the computer 720; the embodiment is not limitedto a particular type of communications device. The remote computer 749may be another computer, a server, a router, a network PC, a client, apeer device or other common network node, and typically includes many orall of the elements described above relative to the computer 720,although only a memory storage device 750 has been illustrated in FIG.6. The logical connections depicted in FIG. 6 include a local-areanetwork (LAN) 751 and a wide-area network (WAN) 752. Such networkingenvironments are commonplace in offices, enterprise-wide computernetworks, intranets and the Internet.

When used in a LAN-networking environment, the computer 720 is connectedto the local network 751 through a network interface or adapter 753,which is one type of communications device. When used in aWAN-networking environment, the computer 720 typically includes a modem754, a type of communications device, or any other type ofcommunications device for establishing communications over the wide areanetwork 752, such as the Internet. The modem 754, which may be internalor external, is connected to the system bus 723 via the serial portinterface 746. In a networked environment, program modules depictedrelative to the personal computer 720, or portions thereof, may bestored in the remote memory storage device. It is appreciated that thenetwork connections shown are exemplary and other means of andcommunications devices for establishing a communications link betweenthe computers may be used.

The hardware and operating environment in conjunction with whichembodiments of the invention may be practiced has been described. Thecomputer in conjunction with which embodiments of the invention may bepracticed may be a conventional computer a hand-held or palm-sizecomputer, a computer in an embedded system, a distributed computer, orany other type of computer; the invention is not so limited. Such acomputer typically includes one or more processing units as itsprocessor, and a computer-readable medium such as a memory. The computermay also include a communications device such as a network adapter or amodem, so that it is able to communicatively couple other computers.

While preferred embodiments have been described above and illustrated inthe accompanying drawings, it will be evident to those skilled in theart that modifications may be made without departing from thisdisclosure. Such modifications are considered as possible variantscomprised in the scope of the disclosure.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A computer implemented method forgenerating a map for ground navigation comprising a weather forecast,the method comprising: receiving, at a navigation device, a map requestindicating a departure location and a destination location; in responseto receiving said map request, obtaining map data associated with aroute between the departure location and the destination location;obtaining a plurality of precipitation forecasts, each precipitationforecast indicating a probability of a different one of a plurality ofprecipitation types occurring at a point along the route at an estimatedtime of arrival (ETA) associated with the point; obtaining a pluralityof rate forecasts, each rate forecast indicating a probability of adifferent one of a plurality of precipitation rates occurring at thepoint at the ETA; combining the plurality of precipitation forecasts andthe plurality of rate forecasts to generate a probability distributionindicating probabilities that each of the plurality of precipitationtypes will occur at each of the plurality of precipitation rates at thepoint at the ETA; and displaying, on a display device of the navigationdevice, a map of the route and a visual indicator of at least oneprobability in the distribution.
 2. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: detecting a request to update the map; and in response todetecting the request to update the map: receiving an updated currentlocation of the navigation device; obtaining an updated weather forecastassociated with an updated point along said route based on an updatedETA associated with the updated point, the updated point located betweenthe updated current location and the destination location; anddisplaying, on the display device, a modified map that includes a secondvisual indicator representing the updated weather forecast.
 3. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the map data is generated using informationstored locally at the navigation device.
 4. The method of claim 1,further comprising: forwarding the map request to a remote server; andreceiving the map data from the remote server.
 5. A non-transitorycomputer readable medium storing instructions, which when executed by anavigation device with a display, cause the navigation device to:receive a map request including a departure location and a destinationlocation; in response to receiving said map request, obtain map dataassociated with a route between the departure location and thedestination location; obtain a plurality of precipitation forecasts,each precipitation forecast indicating a probability of a different oneof a plurality of precipitation types occurring at a point along theroute at an estimated time of arrival (ETA) associated with the point;obtain a plurality of rate forecasts, each rate forecast indicating aprobability of a different one of a plurality of precipitation ratesoccurring at the point at the ETA; combine the plurality ofprecipitation forecasts and the plurality of rate forecasts to generatea probability distribution indicating probabilities that each of theplurality of precipitation types will occur at each of the plurality ofprecipitation rates at the point at the ETA; and display, on the displayof the navigation device, a map of the route and a visual indicator ofat least one probability in the distribution.
 6. A ground vehiclenavigation apparatus comprising: a display device; one or moreprocessors; a memory comprising instructions which when executed by theone or more processors cause the ground vehicle navigation apparatus to:receive a map request indicating a departure location and a destinationlocation; in response to receiving said map request, obtain map dataassociated with a route between the departure location and thedestination location; obtain a plurality of precipitation forecasts,each precipitation forecast indicating a probability of a different oneof a plurality of precipitation types occurring at a point along theroute at an estimated time of arrival (ETA) associated with the point;obtain a plurality of rate forecasts, each rate forecast indicating aprobability of a different one of a plurality of precipitation ratesoccurring at the point at the ETA; combine the plurality ofprecipitation forecasts and the plurality of rate forecasts to generatea probability distribution indicating probabilities that each of theplurality of precipitation types will occur at each of the plurality ofprecipitation rates at the point at the ETA; and display, on the displaydevice of the ground vehicle navigation apparatus, a map of the routeand a visual indicator of at least one probability in the distribution.7. The ground vehicle navigation apparatus of claim 6, wherein when theone or more processors execute the instructions stored in the memory,the ground vehicle navigation apparatus is further caused to: detect arequest to update the map; in response to detecting the request toupdate the map: receive an updated current location of the groundvehicle navigation apparatus; obtain an updated weather forecastassociated with an updated point along said route based on an updatedETA associated with the updated point, the updated point located betweenthe updated current location and the destination location; and display,on the display device, a modified map that includes a second visualindicator representing the updated weather forecast.
 8. The groundvehicle navigation apparatus of claim 6, wherein the map data isgenerated using information stored locally at the ground vehiclenavigation apparatus.
 9. The ground vehicle navigation apparatus ofclaim 6, wherein the map request is forwarded to a remote server, andthe map data is obtained from the remote server.
 10. The method of claim1, further comprising automatically selecting the point based on a userpreference.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the user preferenceidentifies a distance interval.
 12. The method of claim 1, wherein themap further includes a second route between the departure location andthe destination location and a second visual indicator of a secondweather forecast associated with a second point along the second route.13. The method of claim 12, further comprising displaying, on thedisplay device, navigation instructions associated with the route inresponse to receiving a selection of the route.
 14. The method of claim10, further comprising selecting a major city as the point in responseto the user preference corresponding to a major city option.
 15. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the visual indicator includes a text labelassociated with a particular rate of the plurality of precipitationrates.
 16. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining the ETAbased on traffic information.
 17. The ground vehicle navigationapparatus of claim 6, further comprising a user interface configured toreceive user preferences, wherein the instructions, when executed by theone or more processors, further cause the ground vehicle navigationapparatus to identify the point based on the user preferences.